For the first time since the 1991 season, the Detroit Lions are headed to the NFC Championship after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23 in a divisional round playoff game at Ford Field on Sunday, January 21.
The victory came on the third anniversary of the Lions’ hiring current head coach Dan Campbell, who, along with defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, has gotten a lot of praise for turning the team from the laughingstock of the league to a team that is now just two wins away from its first Super Bowl title.
The win over Tampa Bay didn’t come without its challenges. After being tied 10-10 at the half and Tampa Bay getting the opening kickoff of the second half, the Lions were able to force Baker Mayfield and the Bucs into consecutive punts in their first two second-half possessions. After getting the ball on their second possession, the Lions marched 64 yards in 10 plays, capped off with a one-yard touchdown by reserve running back Craig Reynolds to go up 17-10.
The Buccaneers immediately responded with a seven-play, 75-yard drive that saw Tampa running back Rachaad White virtually walk into the endzone on a 12-yard catch-and-run from Mayfield. But during his touchdown celebration, White mockingly did the Blade Dance, made infamous by Detroit rapper Blade Icewood.
The Lions – and Lions fans all across social media – seemed to get a wake-up call after the celebration, opening the fourth quarter with a five-play, 75-yard scoring drive where rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs scampered into the endzone for a 31-yard touchdown. The Lions held a 24-17 lead at that point and would increase that lead to 31-17 on their next possession.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff found his All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for a nine-yard touchdown in the back of the endzone. This time, St. Brown mocked a dance celebration of Mayfield’s that went viral when Mayfield was a member of the Cleveland Browns. Unlike White’s dance, St. Brown’s came with his team up two scores and in position to ice the game away.
Following a 16-yard touchdown connection between Mayfield and wideout Mike Evans, a failed two-point conversion left the visitors down 31-23 with 4:37 remaining in the contest.
The Lions used a combination of play-action passes and effective runs to milk the clock down to 2:06 before being forced to punt the ball away. But Glenn’s bend-don’t-break defensive unit answered the call. With 1:39 remaining and the Bucs running a no-huddle offense deep in their own territory, Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes sealed the deal, intercepting Barnes and allowing the team’s offense to kneel three times to close out the game.
“I didn’t know immediately what I was thinking after I got the interception,” Barnes said after the game. “I don’t really even remember how I got to the sidelines, to be honest.”
Tampa head coach Todd Bowles, after the game, commented on how well Detroit’s defense played overall, especially from a coaching perspective.
“They disguised (their scheme) well. They had a couple free runners on the edge at times. They did a good job of scheming on us,” he said.
Overall, Detroit was led by Goff, who completed 30-of-43 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. Rookies Sam LaPorta and Gibbs carried a huge offensive load for Detroit, as Gibbs accounted for 74 rushing yards, 40 receiving yards, and a touchdown. LaPorta caught nine of Goff’s passes for 65 yards.
Tampa got a huge day from Evans, who caught eight passes for 147 yards and a touchdown, while Mayfield was 26-of-41 with 349 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. The first interception was by C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who exchanged words with Mayfield via media reports earlier in the week. After the pick, Gardner-Johnson ran up the field and flipped the ball to Mayfield before running off the field in celebration.
The Lions will now head to San Francisco for the NFC Championship game, where the winner will earn a trip to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Lions have not seen this level of playoff success since winning the 1957 Championship prior to the Super Bowl era.
Game time for the NFC Championship is yet to be determined.
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